Notes / Commercial Description:
UFO Hefeweizen is an American unfiltered wheat beer. Perhaps UFO’s initial sensory perception is also its most prominent: a cloudy golden color and a dense, frothy head. The yeast, which has not been filtered out, accounts for the cloudiness of UFO. Wheat malt tends to create a larger head than barley malt, the cereal grain most often used in brewing. When served in a traditional wheat beer glass with a lemon, UFO presents an appealing and distinctive visual image.

The aroma has a faint but clear citrus-like character. This is produced by the special yeast and accounts for the Bavarian tradition of serving hefeweizens with a lemon. The lemon accentuates the yeast’s fruity, tart fragrance. UFO has a soft mouthfeel and a refreshing, light body. The wheat malts and subtle hopping give the beer a mild, delicate flavor. UFO has a clean finish. Unlike some imported hefeweizens, UFO does not have the spicy, tropical flavors typical of European-brewed style.

User Reviews

holy crap this is awful. i mean like not especially offensive tasting but jeez i expected more from harpoon. really gross looking gold murky color with a nasty looking white head with massive bubbles that quickly fizzle away. notes of corn, grain, cloying sweetness, apple? I must have gotten a bad can or something because this is just not good at all, damn!

A real popular hefeweizen here, surprised it took me so long so have this one. It's not real traditional, but is quite mild, and as such should appeal to the newer or timid daft beer drinker. A craft converter from something like a sock top too I think. Pale color, almost milky looking, without the usual tall white fluffy head I like to see in this style. Smells good though, light fruitiness, pear more than the standard banana. Some spice, but again, this is incredibly mild on the yeast front. Lighter white wheat malt base too, Ben without filtration it is light and easy drinking, and mellow on flavor. The low alcohol, high carbonation, and clean easy body make it a really crushable beer, especially in the summer when it's hot and the beer is frosty cold. I do not think this is a great American example of the hefe style though, there are far better, despite its popularity. It's also far from the best beer these guys make, I love their hoppy stuff. A lighter easier going offering that may appeal to the fringes, but the seasoned hefeweizen drinker will be largely unenthused.

I love the hefeweizen style, so I figured I'd like this before I even tasted it, but objectively, I think this is a beer that can't really be knocked for any legitimate reason. It tastes like a lot of other hefeweizens, sure, but it doesn't try too hard to be gimmicky and end up tasting weird as a result. It's a solid, safe beer.

with a slight haze. Aroma: Orange peel dominates, with a hint of apple. Almost champagne like. Taste: Light maltiness with bready notes. Orange peel and citrus dominate the flavor, with a slight spice from the coriander. Low bitterness. Mouthfeel: Light body with high carbonation. Finish: lingering coriander spice with a hint of orange peel. Overall: With the orange peel and coriander I assume this is a Belgian witbier inspired American wheat. This manages to hit that hybrid of style, but seems to be lacking an increased body that would enhance te complexity of the beer. It feels too thin and light, with a carbonation and aroma reminiscent of champagne.

I could see this being a great transitional beer for macro lager fans who want to try out what the craft beer scene has to offer. Despite being a wheat ale, this has a flavor that's not too unlike some of the better American adjunct lager offerings out there (Pabst, Narragansett), but with a more defined character. It has a vaguely fruity tartness to it, which mixes well with the tasty wheat, and there's a minute amount of spice here as well. Velvety feel, and it has a nice mildly bitter and tart aftertaste to it. It's an excellent summer beer, very easy to drink and it isn't lacking in flavor. Harpoon's UFO line continues to impress me. The beers are never MIND BLOWING, but they're always a tasty and affordable go-to brew.

12 ounce bottle into pint glass, best before 1/15/2015. Pours hazy deep golden color with a 1 finger fairly dense white head with good retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Light spotty lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of lemon, pear, apple, banana, white grape, wheat, bread, light clove, herbal, grass, and yeast earthiness. Okay aromas with solid balance of fruity/earthy yeast and bready malt notes; with decent strength. A bit too fruity/slightly metallic in the nose. Taste of lemon, pear, apple, banana, white grape, wheat, bread, herbal, grass, light clove, and yeast earthiness. Light yeast spice/wheat tartness on the finish; with lingering notes of lemon, pear, apple, banana, white, grape, wheat, bread, and herbal/yeast earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Good balance and robustness of fruity/earthy yeast and bready malt flavors; with zero cloying flavors after the finish. Medium carbonation and body; with a smooth, crisp, and fairly creamy/bready mouthfeel that is good. Alcohol is well hidden with minimal warming present after the finish as expected of 5%. Overall this is a solid pale wheat ale style. All around good robustness and balance of fruity/earthy yeast and bready malt flavors; and very smooth and crisp to drink. A pleasantly enjoyable offering.

Appearance: A one finger head was poured that reduced to a puffy layer. It is a hazy golden yellow with good vision of tiny bubbles coming up through the glass. Frothy lacing down the glass as the beer was drank.

Smell: Bananas, clove, vanilla, wheat, and pale malts.

Taste: Love how tasty this beer is. Simple pale wheat beer with the typical Bavarian flavor and wheat and pale malts to back it up.

05/16/12 On tap. Seconding my last appraisal. It's 20F outside & I'm perfectly happy drinking this. Historically I've never been impressed w/Harpoon stuff...perhaps it's because it's not a bottle...but I may just have another.

06/12 - Rate Beer does not do this brew justice. A 26? Time for me to re-evaluate RB. It's got a fresh, clean taste with a great balance. I could drink this all day long. Lemon takes it into July/August mode.

Appearance: A hazy yellow with some rich golden tones present at times. Not much of a head on this one, though it does leave some lacing behind. Certainly looks like a hefeweizen or standard wheat beer.

Smell: Very simple and not very assertive- there is a soft sterile smell to this one. You can definitely pick up on the banana/clove notes often found in wheat beers like this, but there is a sterile, medicinal note in there too. Not cool.

Taste: Thin and bland. It is a shame this beer calls itself a 'hefeweizen' on the label. The banana/clove notes traditionally found in hefeweizen are nowhere to be found in this one, though there is some spiciness. That sterile note is still evident in the taste as this one has a rather abrupt and harsh finish.

Mouthfeel: Very thin compared to others in the style and highly carbonated to make up for it.

Overall: This one should NOT be labeled a hefeweizen. I know BA categorizes it as an American Pale Wheat, and that is certainly what it is, but Harpoon calling this one a hefeweizen is a shame. This beer is abysmal as a hefeweizen and passable as an American Pale Wheat, but even then, it pales in comparison to better offerings including Goose Island 312 and Bell's Oberon.

Pours a pale, cloudy golden, with a solid head of white foam. Minimal lace.

Nose is subtly malty, with little trace of the usual strong and spicy wheat and yeast elements associated with hefeweizen. Not bad, but not up to snuff, either.

Taste is light on the palate, grainy, and almost lager-like. I get little trace of any clove or banana or bubblegum notes as I'd expect. Instead, I would consider this more of a basic wheat beer. As a hefeweizen, this one just falls short on most levels. Nonetheless, this remains drinkable and easygoing, and would make a a solid session drink or a fine starter beer for future craft beer fans.

Pours a cloudy straw color with a half finger of head that dissipates quickly. The nose has only fairly faint wheat notes. The body is slightly heartier than most wheats. The finish is slightly bitter, but there is a something sweet on the finish as well.

Poured into a pint bar glass with a hazy golden color and very little head.

Aromas of grain and some yeast and citrus. Not impressive.

The flavor profile is a real disaster in my opinion from start to finish. First the tongue is assaulted with an unwelcome very bitter taste with some very slight lemon and then biting finish with little flavor.

The mouth feel is very uneven and lacks any real body or redeeming value. It has medium to high carbonation but little on the flavor side to support it.

Overall this example is way below what I have come to expect from both German and American brewers of this style, such as Paulander's Hefe-Weizen amd Sierra Nevada's Kellerweis Hefeweizen.

Pours a cloudy straw color with some pinkish hue in it. It has a decent head, but dissipated rather quickly and left no lacing.

Smell is a very strong floral raspberry. with hints of wheat in the background. The raspberry scent is very sweet and seems mostly artificial like an artificially flavored raspberry soda.

Taste has a good bit of tart raspberry in it and is quite pleasant. The wheat taste is nice and crisp. The tartness is much more than what the smell would suggest. Mouthfeel is alright and drinkability is good. Perfect for a hot summer day or a bbq.

Pours a hazy orange with a huge frothy white head. Has a strong wheat smell, some malt and spice, sweet and citrus. Taste has the spice up front with the citrus at the end. Strong on the palette, nice flavors, balanced nicely. Overall a nice beer, could be a bit smoother, but an enjoyable beer.

M - Slight sting on the tongue. Drinks thin, but feels thick. Definitely a good feel for enjoying a Summer day.

O - This is a solid Hefe. Nothing stands out as best in class, but it's very drinkable, and serves as a great, refreshing brew on a warm afternoon. I recommend drinking this outside as much as possible.

o - Overall not my favorite pale wheat, or beer from Harpoon, but decent. Nose was pretty nice but the taste had a little too much pepper or spice in it. Probably would just stick with their IPA next time.

A - hazy, cloudy copper with a big, soft, thick, white head that has good retention

S - grains, sweet, faint lemon

T - grains, straw, faint bubblegum, banana

M - light bodied, crisp, well carbonated

This a bit of a disappointment. The yeast adds some bubblegum and banana, but the rest of the beer is rather flavorless. It's also a bit grainy which detracts from the overall flavor. I definitely wouldn't buy this beer again. There are far better beers out there that are actual Hefeweizens.